Now is The Winter
by AWildeRomantic
Summary: SG1 learns that there are some threats they can't destroy, some foes they're just not prepared to face. SamJack, SamOther.
1. Prologue and A Minor Dispute

A/N - This is a re-write of my "so end the halcyon days". I just needed a rewrite and a fresh title. So here it is; SG-1 up against something they can't stop, the stargate program going public and tons of more action and drama and a smidge of ship.  


* * *

  
Prologue: Earth that Was

_"Now is the winter of our discontent…"_

I remember reading that vaguely in one of Daniel's books. Now the phrase is stuck in my mind as the icy wind blows snow into my hood, despite my best attempts to hold it closed. The long jacket, made from some silver fur, hugs close to my body, hangs down over the swell of my belly to well past my knees and does a good job of keeping the cold out.

Jack walks next to me, his arm around my waist as we trudge through the snow to the SGC compound that's a hundred feet away. But it might as well be a hundred miles in this weather.

With fingers blue from cold despite his thick gloves, Jack reaches out to punch in the security code and moments later the doors slide open. We're ushered inside by a bright-eyed lieutenant.

"Colonel Carter!" he exclaims as I peel off my many layers of cold weather gear. "You shouldn't be out in weather like this."

I shake my head. "I'm alright."

"General O'Neill." He acknowledges Jack with a brief salute.

Jack nods, draping his jacket over one arm as we head down the hallway escorted by the young lieutenant. "We heard the photos from the probe arrived."

"Yes, sir, the chiefs and General Hammond are in the main conference room."

We walk a little further, then Jack opens the doors leading to the large conference room, where Hammond and a few other men and women are sitting around the table. A couple of them stand up as we enter, one pulling out a chair for me.

"Colonel, you shouldn't have come all this way in the cold!" The president, the former president, I should say, admonishes me quietly. "It can't be good for you."

"Really, I'm fine," I hear myself insisting for the second time. "I wanted to see the photos."

Jack sits next to me, putting his hand on my arm. The others settle as well and Hammond moves to the front of the room, flicking a switch that causes a screen to slowly lower.

"As you know ladies an gentlemen," he says. "About a year ago we sent a probe back to Earth, one that's been specially equipped with anti-radiation shields. It took pictures of the area around the Cheyenne Mountain Complex and other parts of the western United States. This morning at approximately 0500 hours we received the pictures from the probe."

He pushes a button. An image appears on the screen. Everyone in the room is silent; each one of us holding our breaths or shaking our heads disbelievingly at the pictures now slowly flashing before us. Flat, barren wastelands with piles of darkened rubble as the only landmarks. No organic matter to be seen anywhere. Nothing sticking up higher than about 20 ft.

"Mother of god…" one of the men across from me murmurs. He looks away from the screen, covering his face with his hand.

I look away as well, locking eyes with Jack. He puts his arm around my shoulders and we rest our foreheads together for a brief moment.

Hammond clears his throat then speaks in a halting, quiet tone. "Radiation levels are still to high to send humans back. We expect that won't happen for another few years at least, or until we've developed good enough environment suits."

"My god," a woman says in a thick English accent. "We really blew ourselves up, didn't we?" Murmurs of assent pass in a wave around the table.

"Hey." Jack looks at them all sternly. "At least we're still alive. At least we've still got hope." As he says this I feel his hand rest lightly on my stomach where our baby is growing. Our baby that will be among the first children to be born on our new home.

People nod, but the grief in their eyes is still obvious, even after Hammond turns the pictures off.

We stand and I step closer to Jack, resting my head on his shoulder. He brings his arms up around me, swaying slightly.

"We're gonna be ok, Sam, we're gonna be ok."

I close my eyes, willing the tears not to come.

_Now is the winter of our discontent…made glorious…made glorious…_

* * *

Chapter 1: A Minor Dispute

"Our Russian friend Chekov is back again," Jack announced loudly, bursting into Sam's lab where she was carefully dissecting a probe. Teal'c was overseeing with his usual stony expression.

Sam glanced up at her CO, looking slightly annoyed. "Really? Why?"

"You think I know?" Jack pulled up one of the tall stools and sat down, promptly reaching for a small grey box covered in buttons. Without even looking Sam reached out and swatted his hand away. "He's been here for almost two days. Maybe he wants to get a Russian team or something."

"They already tried that," Sam pointed out, taking off her safety goggles and setting them aside.

"But now that Kornov guy is in charge over there," Jack said, referring to the new leader of Russia, Alexander Koranov. "And everyone's talking about how 'progressive and radical' he is…"

Sam shrugged. "Still though…"

"Maybe I'll go pester Hammond," Jack murmured, getting slowly to his feet. "He might let something slip."

Sam gave him a 'you do that' look, reaching for her safety goggles and tools once more. Jack grinned in response and strode out into the hall, his hands in his pockets.

Looking through the window into Hammond's office Jack could see Colonel Chekov sitting at the desk across from the general. The Russian seemed extremely flustered, his face growing redder by the second. Hammond looked irritated as well and scowled at Jack when their eyes met through the glass.

Flashing one of his famous cheeky O'Neill grins, Jack sat down at the briefing table, waiting patiently with his feet propped up until Hammond finally opened the door. Chekov stomped out, not giving Jack a second's glance. Cautiously, Jack stood up and approached the general's desk.

"General?"

Hammond looked up, letting out a heavy sigh. "What can I do for you, Colonel?" he managed a tight smile. "I apologize if I'm short with you…I'm just sitting in anticipation for round four with Chekov."

"Yeah, about that…" Jack almost propped his feet up on the desk, though the expression on his commanding officer's face told him not to. "What's going on, sir?"

"It's classified, Jack, I'm not allowed to say anything."

"With all due respect, sir, I'm the commander of the lead team in the highest security military operation ever…" Jack cautiously met Hammond's gaze. "Don't I have the highest security clearance possible?"

"Yes you do. But there are some things I'm just not allowed to discuss at the moment," Hammond shook his head wearily. "You'll know eventually, don't worry about that."

But "eventually" wasn't enough to satisfy Jack's curiosity. He brought up the whole thing again with the rest of his team over lunch, though neither Sam nor Daniel seemed as perturbed about it and Jack wasn't even sure Teal'c had heard him. Daniel turned to Jack as they were leaving and after an eloquent roll of his eyes told Jack not to worry; plenty of things went on that Hammond couldn't tell them about.

* * *

Because it was a Friday night Sam pulled herself away from her work to apply herself to the only thing remotely close to family that she had; Janet and Cassie. So as the clock chimed seven she was not sitting in her lab but rather at the Fraiser's dinning room table, listening to Cassandra rattle away all the things that had happened to her in the past week. Sam was amazed at how well the alien child was fitting in on Earth. She was almost indistinguishable now from any other girl her age.

After Cassie had been sent to bed, Sam and Janet settled down in the living room with a couple glasses of wine.

"So…" Sam exhaled loudly as she sat on the couch. "The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming."

Janet snorted into her wine glass. "I saw that movie…didn't like it too much."

"Seriously, Chekov's been here for the past couple days and Colonel O'Neill is getting worried."

"Colonel O'Neill?" Janet's eyes widened. "Worried about something other than a needle? That surprises me…especially because doesn't the Russian government like to send someone over periodically to check on us?"

"Yeah. But apparently," Sam paused to take a sip of wine, "apparently when he asked Hammond what was going on, Hammond said it was classified."

"Classified from SG-1? Now I _am_ worried," Janet's tone was sarcastic and she shook her head. "Honestly, Sam, I wouldn't fret about it too much. I bet this new Koranov guy just is trying to get his two cents in before he realizes we won't capitulate."

"That's one of our theories, that they're trying to get their own team."

"Sounds reasonable to me."

"But…" Sam frowned slightly. "They're making a big fuss over it if that is all it is."

Janet shrugged, throwing back the last of her wine. "They're Russians."

"Janet!"

"I'm only kidding!" Janet rolled her eyes and yawned. "Who knows, Sam? People tend to make big fusses about things that deal with the Stargate. Until Hammond tells you to worry, I don't think you really need to."

Sam sighed heavily, still not entirely convinced.

* * *

Jack barely made it out of the elevator the next morning before Walter shoved a cup of coffee under his nose, saying he was needed in Hammond's office. Jack sipped the coffee, shoved it back into the surprised sergeant's hands, and headed up to see Hammond.

The general seemed relatively calmer today and motioned for Jack to have a seat.

"Explanation or reprimand today, sir?" Jack asked, trying his best to at least seem awake.

"Explanation. I think I owe you one at the very least," Hammond folded his hands. "What's going on will probably end up involving you and your team, so you deserve to know."

Jack frowned. "Did we do something to upset the Russians?"

"Not SG-1 specifically, but the whole program. The whole government of the United States, actually. SG-1 didn't have anything to do with it."

"And what is this 'it' that we're going to be involved in but haven't had anything to do with yet, sir?"

Hammond looked more uncomfortable than Jack had ever seen him. The usually calm and collected General was actually shifting around in his seat, his brow furrowing. "The U.S has been covertly using the Stargate to place nuclear warheads on some of our off world bases."


	2. Pawns of the Game

Chapter 2: Pawns of the Game

It took Jack a moment to close his mouth and find his voice. "Nuclear warheads?! Why?"

"Defensive purposes," Hammond unclasped and clasped his hands on the table a couple times. "We've been developing newer, stronger weapons and the Pentagon thinks we need them in our fight against the Goa'uld. The reason we're doing this off-world is so we don't excite any of the other nations."

"And…then Russia found out and they're not too happy about it."

The general nodded. "Exactly. Though I can't really blame them…Anyway, what the Secretary of Defense is most concerned about right now is how the Russians found out about this operation. Only a handful of people knew about it and security was tighter than it is with the whole Stargate program."

"So this is pretty big, huh?" Jack watched Hammond carefully, trying to tell by his expression how alarmed he was about the situation. Apparently very alarmed.

"That it is. I have to go up to Washington later, in fact, to meet with the President," Hammond said. "I'll leave you in charge here while I'm gone; it'll only be for a couple days."

"Is this whole thing on the low down or can I tell my team?"

"Your discretion. I don't see any reason why they shouldn't know."

"Great." Jack stood up. "Good luck in D.C. , sir, I hope you sort this whole thing out."

Hammond managed a weak smile. "Thank you, Colonel."

* * *

"You know what I think?" Daniel said, leaning in farther over his tray so his teammates could hear him over the babble of noise in the commissary. "I think the Tollan were right. Give us any type of advanced weaponry and the first thing we do is try to find the best ways to blow each other up."

Sam frowned into her cup of blue jell-o. "You really think that's it? Maybe they're doing exactly what they claim and are just trying to fight the Goa'uld."

"Don't kid yourself, Carter," Jack grumbled. "You've got too much faith in our government. They could care less about the Goa'uld. All they want is to be able to blast any other country off the face of the Earth the second they oppose us."

They were all silent for a few minutes, each contemplating the situation and steadily losing their appetite in the process. Sam pushed her tray away from her and sat back in her chair with her arms folded over her chest.

"Are the Russians displeased because they are not allowed to place their weapons alongside our own?" Teal'c asked after a while.

"That's probably part of it," Daniel too, pushed his tray back and shifted uncomfortably around in his seat, earning an annoyed glare from Jack. "Also, during the Cold War we signed a treaty with the Russians saying we would never put nuclear weapons in space. I think everyone realized the potentials."

Sam's eyes widened. "So this is about us breaking the treaty? This is bigger than we thought…wouldn't they want to –"

"Carter," Jack interrupted with a wave of his hand. "Russia thinks we can blow their whole, cold country off the map. They're not going to do anything stupid."

"Lets hope not." Daniel mumbled.

Hammond returned a few days later with the grim news that the problem hadn't gotten any better. In fact, things seemed to be getting decidedly worse.

"They're after the Stargate program now," he told Jack the afternoon after his return to the base. "They want us to shut it down and cease off-world operations."

"And we've told them no way in hell, right?"

"Colonel." Hammond gave him an admonishing glare.

Jack winced. "Sorry, sir. But seriously, we're not going to shut the 'gate down just because they don't like what we're doing, are we?"

"Jack," Hammond said with a heavy sigh. "We're breaking a treaty with them. An old one, but it's still an agreement between our countries. Do you understand how serious Koranov is taking this?"

Jack nodded.

"I told the Pentagon this was a bad idea," Hammond murmured, shaking his head. "But they didn't listen."

"That doesn't make any sense."

The general shrugged. "They thought we could slip in under Russia's radar."

Jack rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

* * *

The next day Sam was in her lab working on her latest mission report. She was nearly finished when a loud knock interrupted her train of thought. Assuming it was Jack or Daniel come to bother her rather than finish their own report she didn't even look up.

"I'm busy, so if you -"

"Major Samantha Carter?"

Sam slowly turned, fingers still poised over the keyboard to find herself face to face with a prim looking man in a spiffy uniform that had far too many medals on it. "That's me."

"You're needed in the briefing room." He spoke in the monotonous tone of someone who'd spent way too much time in the military.

Sam closed her laptop slowly and stood up, following the man, whoever he was, out of the lab and to the elevators. He said nothing as they headed up to the briefing room, where Hammond was talking with two men who had to be Pentagon officials. They all turned when Sam entered.

"Major," Hammond said, gesturing for her to take a seat. "These are Generals Harrison and Campbell from the Pentagon. They'd like to have a word with you."

"Ok." Sam eyed both the men warily as they sat down across the table from her. To her relief Hammond sat down as well, shooting the other two a look that clearly said he wouldn't be told otherwise.

"Major Carter," Harrison said, flipping through a manila folder in front of him. "You're currently considered the country's, if not the world's, leading expert on wormhole physics, the Stargate and other forms of alien technology. As such, General Ryan and others have decided that you'd be the best candidate to develop some new defensive technologies for us utilizing your knowledge of astrophysics."

"What sort of defensive technologies?"

"Long range ballistic missiles with inter planetary capabilities," Harrison replied. "Currently ICBM's can only be targeted to other planets using the Stargate. We'd like something that's a little more flexible and efficient."

Sam frowned. "I'm sorry, I thought you said _defensive_ technologies."

"These would be used to protect ourselves against the Goa'uld, of course," Campbell said.

Sam looked over at Hammond. The general had a rather stony expression on his face, but showed no hint of response to her unspoken question of whether these two were serious or not. However, it was obvious that he didn't believe the 'defensive' part any more than Sam did.

"With all due respect, sirs," Sam began carefully. "Isn't this even more of a breach of the treaty with Russia?"

Campbell scowled. "Leave the politics to the people in Washington, Major. We don't want to know your moral opinion on this, we're here to tell you you're on this project."

"And…what if I _can't_ design these missiles?"

"We know you can." Campbell narrowed his eyes. "You're one of the smartest people in the world and I'm not saying that to flatter you."

Sam shook her head. "It's just…"

"It's just what, Major?" Campbell gritted his teeth, putting an almost dictatorial emphasis on her rank.

"I'm an astrophysicist." Sam said, meeting his eyes determinedly. "I study alien technology and keep the gate running, I don't design nuclear weapons." She was beginning to surprise even herself. Usually arguing with a superior officer, unless that superior officer happened to be Jack, was something she would never dream of. Unless, of course, said officer seemed to have lost his mind.

"You seem to be missing the point here, Major. You're also in the United States Air Force," Campbell pointed out. "So unless you want to face a court martial for disobeying direct orders, you will do this."

"General Campbell," Hammond broke in, unable to restrain himself. "Major Carter is under my command, I won't have you coming in here and –"

"If you have a problem with this, you can take it up with General Ryan. I'm not the one giving out orders here."

Hammond got to his feet. "Well then I'll do that." He turned to Sam. "Major, you're dismissed."

Sam stood as well, casting a last glance at Harrison and Campbell before leaving the briefing room.

* * *

A/N – Remember…reviews are gold! Show your love by reviewing. :D 


	3. Hitting Home

Chapter 3: Hitting Home

Jack was fuming by the time Sam finished telling him what happened.

"I won't have some snub nosed politician coming in here and threatening _my_ second in command with a court martial!" The colonel roared, throwing a crumpled piece of paper violently at the wastebasket.

Sam watched him from her perch on one of the stools by her lab table. Her chin was resting in her hands and she let out a tired sigh.

"Is what they're asking even possible?!" Jack turned, staring at Sam with one eyebrow raised.

"I don't know." Sam shrugged. "It could be, with help from the Asgard to make a small device capable of opening a hyperspace window…But even if it is possible there's a question of whether it's practical….I mean the naquadah required –"

"Damn the naquadah, damn it all to hell!" Jack shouted so suddenly that Sam jumped. "I don't give a rat's butt about the naquadah. They still have no right to come in here and threaten you like that just because you don't want to make their little nuclear toys for them."

Sam looked down at the grey concrete floor. "This is the military, sir."

"I know, I just…" Jack shook his fist, staring at it like he was frustrated with his own inability to do anything. Finally he sighed and said quietly, "it's late, Carter, you should be heading home."

Sam nodded dully and they walked out of the lab together, splitting directions when Sam headed to the women's locker rooms.

* * *

She knew something was wrong when she saw the strange car parked in her driveway. It was black with tinted windows; hardly inconspicuous. Sam parked a little ways down the street, pulling her handgun out of its locked box under the seat and sticking it in the waistband of her pants before getting out of the car and creeping up to the house.

A few minutes of crouching in the yard and she hadn't seen any movement in the house. Sam crept around to the back door and opened it as quietly as possible. The house was dark except for the lamp in the living room that she'd left on. As she stepped into the doorway she had a clear view of the chair by the fire, and the man who was now sitting in it.

"Major Carter." He spoke in a thick Russian accent as he got smoothly to his feet. "I've been waiting for you."

The gun was in Sam's hand in a second and pointed at the man. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?!"

"Please, lower the gun, Major." The man calmly held up one hand. "My name is Nickolai Salmanovitch. And if you ever wish to see Cassandra Fraiser again, I would suggest you come with me without complaint."

Ten minutes later an unarmed Sam sat in the back seat of the huge black car, next to Salmanovitch.

"Where are you taking me?" Sam asked, unable to keep the bitter tone out of her voice.

"Patience, Major," Salmanovitch replied. "We will be there shortly."

Sam was lead into a large abandoned warehouse that immediately made her think NID, but she knew they wouldn't have a Russian agent. Especially with the current events. True to the NID's MO, however, she found herself being strapped to a metal chair. Salmanovitch left the room and a moment later a tall man with horn-rimmed glasses and a scar on the side of his nose entered.

"So glad you were able to join us, Major," the man said, pulling up a chair in front of her and sitting down. He assumed a rather casual pose, leaning back and folding his arms over his chest. "Now, assuming you're cooperative, this all should be done relatively quickly."

"Ok, now what do you need so badly that you had to threaten the life of an innocent girl?" Sam's eyes were narrowed.

"Oh, we just need to ask you a couple questions, Major, nothing complicated."

"Questions like what?"

"Like what the Pentagon is asking you to do for them."

Sam frowned and actually contemplated telling him outright for a moment. But then the military, member-of-a-top-secret-organization part of her kicked in.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The man laughed. "Come on. We know two officials from the Pentagon spoke with you about a highly classified project. All you have to do is tell us what it is."

Sam frowned. Had her arms not been strapped down she probably would have folded them across her chest. But she didn't say anything.

The man with the horn-rimmed glasses sighed heavily, then stood up. "I'm afraid you're only making this more difficult on yourself, Major." He turned. "Agent Salmanovitch!"

Salmanovitch returned carrying a large black carrying case which he set on the table behind the man with the horn-rimmed glasses.

"You know what this is, Major?" Glasses tapped the case, smirking. He opened the case, revealing some glass bottles and shiny silver instruments. Sam's heart rate jumped up a few notches, though she didn't let it show in her face. Glasses took out a syringe and filled it with something from one of the glass bottles. "Now, Major Carter, you will tell us exactly what we need to know…"

* * *

The next morning SG-1 had a briefing at 0700 hours, and when Sam didn't show up they all began to worry.

"Maybe she forgot…" Daniel suggested.

"Come on, Danny, Carter's always the first one here!" Jack stood up and went over to the phone, dialing Sam's number. There was no response. He tried her cell phone as well, still no response. Jack turned to Hammond. "Sir, permission to go to Carter's house and see if she's, for some strange reason, sleeping in?"

Hammond nodded. "All three of you go. If there's trouble, call back here. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir." Jack nodded then turned and, along with Daniel and Teal'c, hurried up to the surface.

A few minutes later they were standing on Sam's front porch and pounding on her door. When this brought no results Teal'c suggested they break in, but Daniel shook his head and produced a spare key from his pocket.

"How come you've got a key to her house?" Jack asked testily as Daniel pushed the door open.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I watch her plants when she goes to visit her brother."

"Her plants?"

"And the cat."

"Oh."

They walked into the entry hall, and said cat immediately came out of the dinning room and rubbed itself against their legs.

"Carter?" Jack called, walking into the living room. He looked around and spotted her laying on the couch. "Carter, hey…wake up…" Jack went so far as to shake her, but the only response he got was a slight groan.

Daniel walked over and peered over Jack's shoulder. "Is she ok?"

"I hope so…Hey, T, go get a glass of water from the kitchen." Jack called, before shaking Sam again. "Carter…"

Sam's eyes opened slowly and she blinked groggily up at them. "Hmmnnhmm….sir? Daniel? What - "

"We had a briefing scheduled about half an hour ago…what happened?" Jack asked

Sam tried to sit up, mumbling something that was completely incoherent, and swayed a little. Jack put his hands on her shoulders.

"Easy there, you feeling alright?"

"Agents…" Sam mumbled, laying back down.

"She feels clammy…" Jack said, putting a hand to Sam's forehead as Teal'c returned with a glass of water. "Let's get her back to the infirmary." He tried to get Sam to drink some of the water but she just mumbled something else and pushed it away.

"Oh, definitely that is not how Sam normally acts in the morning," Janet said after running a few tests. "The tests show she's full of a strong sedative, but there's some other substances in there that worry me."

"Is she going to be ok?" Jack asked, his eyes widening.

Janet nodded. "She'll be fine. I meant worried as in worried about what happened to her. She's in there resting off the effects of the drugs right now, but maybe you want to go talk to her in a little bit and try to find out what happened."

"Yeah." Jack stood up.

"I have to go tell the general she's most definitely not getting cleared for the mission today…" Janet murmured, turning and heading down the hall.

Jack headed into the infirmary where Sam was sitting up in bed, rubbing her face.

"Hey, Carter," Jack pulled up a chair and sat down.

Sam looked at him. "Sir…what…"

"Danny, T and I found you passed out on your couch…quite literally actually…" Jack gave her an almost apologetic look. "Doc Fraiser's worried about you. Says you were drugged."

Sam groaned, closing her eyes and leaning back against the pillows. "This guy showed up at my house last night…" She began recounting the events of the previous night, pausing only when General Hammond and Janet came in. As she concluded she gave Hammond a worried look. "I'm sorry, Sir, but I told them about the IPBM's…" she shook her head. "They were threatening Cassie."

"You did the right thing, Sam," Janet said, reaching out to give her friend's shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"The fact that someone outside the SGC knew about the request made to you poses a problem," Hammond said, looking angry. "Did you recognize him, Major?"

Sam shook her head. "No. There were two of them…a Russian and an American." She closed her eyes, trying to remember what they looked like, but the previous night had become nothing more than a groggy blur of questions and answers and finally being dumped on her couch. She opened her eyes again. "I'm sorry, sir…I can't remember what they looked like."

"That's alright, Major." Hammond replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have a few calls to make." With that he turned and left the infirmary.

* * *

Sam made a full and quick recovery and by the next afternoon was sitting in the commissary with Jack and Daniel eating lunch. Their mission had been put on hold, not that any of them were complaining; it was only a simple recon mission after all.

A nervous looking young officer approached their table. "Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, General Hammond wants to see you in his office."

"Damn…" Jack muttered as they stood up. "I hope he didn't find out about that vending machine I broke…"

Sam and Daniel exchanged confused looks, then Sam followed her CO up to the general's office.

"Sir, if this is about the vending machine…" Jack began, but Hammond cut him off.

"What are you talking about, Colonel?" Hammond shook his head. "Wait, never mind. I wanted to tell you that you're both needed at a meeting at the White House."

Sam looked mildly surprised. "What about?"

"I have no idea." Hammond replied. "But we leave at 0900 hours tomorrow, so be ready to go."

"Yessir." They both replied in unison.

Jack was frowning as they left the office. "Ookkayy...this really had better not be about the vending machine…"


	4. Corridors of Power

Chapter 4: Corridors of Power

All together, Sam wasn't looking forward to the trip to Washington. However, being stuck in a small commuter jet for a few hours with Jack and Hammond turned out to be not as bad as she imagined. Hammond slept through most of it, and Jack had brought a travel chess set and there was always the dvd players…

They landed in Washington and immediately were taken via limousine to the White House where people were already gathering for the meeting. The President himself came over to greet them.

"George, good to see you," he said, shaking Hammond's hand before turning to Jack and Sam. "Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, glad you could make it."

"Always a pleasure." Jack replied, beaming.

The president turned to Sam, then, shaking her hand. "Major, I just wanted you to know that we've got someone looking in to the security breech. The project's been scrapped, anyway, so don't worry too much."

"It what?" Sam looked up at him, her eyes wide and slightly surprised.

"It's too dangerous if they know about it." The president shook his head slowly. "Takes away the whole point of it and it's only a weapon they can use against us then."

Sam nodded. "Right…"

A few minutes later the doors to the large conference room opened and everyone began filing in. Sam took a seat between Jack and another man who she didn't recognize. The large table was filled by the time the secretary of defense stood up and called everyone to order.

"All of you probably know the reason for this meeting, the recent requests and threats made by the Russian government. We have joining us three representatives from the Stargate program, and our goal here today is to work out a plan to deal with Russia's demands." He shuffled his notes around a little, looking uncomfortable. "On a much graver note, their threats have increased. Koranov has passed hints that they'd be willing to take this to nuclear war if we do not meet their demands."

"Well that's crazy!" Jack said suddenly. All eyes turned towards him. "I mean nuclear war would be suicide. Both countries would get destroyed, not just ours."

"Right now, Colonel, I don't think Koranov cares." The secretary of defense replied, looking almost remorseful. "The way Koranov sees it right now is that he can either die at our hands, because we have these nukes in space, or he can bring us down with him and die on his own terms."

The man sitting next to Sam snorted, then muttered quietly, "like the colonel said; crazy." Sam couldn't help but nod in agreement.

The consensus was eventually reached that Koranov was probably just bluffing; Jack's point was valid, it would be a fairly insane thing to do. The president had met with Koranov on several occasions and didn't think he was the type to do something quite as irrational as starting a nuclear war.

A few hours later a break for lunch was finally called. They still had some more to cover, but everyone was getting restless because of hunger, so the president dismissed them for a couple hours.

Sam had just stood up when the man next to her turned and held out his hand. He was a little taller than Sam, though about her own age, and with dark brown hair and large, chocolate colored eyes that could probably get any girl to swoon with the right expression. "Lt. Colonel Dryden Anderson," he introduced, shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you," Sam smiled. "Major Sa-"

"Samantha Carter." Dryden finished. "Yeah, I know who you are. I work for the secretary of the defense intelligence agency…so I know all about the Stargate program and the geniuses behind it." He chuckled as Sam blushed and rolled her eyes. "Care to join me for lunch?"

"Sure, why not."

They fell into step together as they left the White House, chatting about nothing in particular. They went to a little restaurant that Sam remembered from her days of working in Washington, a place with good sandwiches and where they wouldn't be the only two in air force uniforms.

"Ah, this game makes me so hungry," Dryden remarked while looking over the menu.

Sam raised her eyebrows. "What game?"

"Politics." Dryden smirked.

"Oh, right. Well, I'm far more at ease alone in my lab with a bunch of alien devices to study," Sam said. "Politics isn't really my thing."

"But you're in one of the most politically debated programs in the government…"

"Yeah, just my luck." She grinned.

Dryden laughed, taking a sip of water. Their waitress came over a minute later and they ordered, then Dryden rested his elbows on the table, leaning in a little. "So, I already know you on a scientific and professional level, but I'd be fascinated to get to know you on a personal level, Major."

"Sam. Please."

"Ok, Sam." Dryden smiled. "What are you like?"

"Uhmmm…" Sam thought a moment. "In between fixing alien technology I repair motorcycles…I have a brother that lives in San Diego and a father who's an ambassador to the Tok'ra."

"What about your mother? It must be hard on her."

Sam's expression darkened and she looked down at the table. "My mom died when I was 16."

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Dryden's eyebrows raised in a worried expression.

Sam smiled reassuringly at him. "It's ok. So what about you?"

"Well…despite the fact that I spend most of my time behind a desk, I'm far too dedicated to the military for my own good. My favorite show is 'Family Guy', I've never ridden on a motorcycle, and my parents and younger sister live in Boston. As you see, Sam, I'm a very simple person."

"Who none the less is well versed in the game of politics."

"Right." Dryden smiled at her over the rim of his glass. "So…the Stargate program. Must be pretty exciting to work on that."

"Oh, it's beyond any of my wildest dreams." She shook her head in slow amazement. "It's…I can't even begin to describe it."

"I've read about the Stargate and how it works…I'd love to see it someday." They both fell silent as the waitress brought their food over.

After the waitress left, Sam turned back to Dryden and said with a grin. "You'd have to get the right security clearance just to set foot in the base."

On the pretense of reaching for the saltshaker, Dryden leaned a little closer. "And what security clearance would I need to take you out for dinner?"

"Cute." Sam gave an all-mighty eye roll. "Did I mention how much I hate cheesy one liners?"

"Sorry…" Dryden held up his hands, grinning sheepishly. "No more, I promise. Let's try that again. Would you go out for dinner with me?"

"I'd love to," Sam replied earnestly. "But I have to have dinner with my CO's after the meeting."

"A drink afterwards then?"

She shook her head. "My flight back to Colorado is pretty early tomorrow."

"Oh." Dryden looked down at his sandwich despairingly.

"Some other time though," Sam said. "Maybe the next time I'm in Washington."

"I'll hold you to that." A faint smile crossed Dryden's face.

* * *

The afternoon portion of the meeting went very slowly and uninterestingly. Sam glanced over more than once to catch Jack doodling on his clipboard, and she was more than tempted to nudge Dryden under the table just to see what he'd do. But what he'd said about being devoted to the military was obviously correct, for he seemed to be hanging on to every word the secretary of defense or chief of staff or president said.

It finally let out as the sun was sinking behind the buildings of the nation's capital, and Sam blearily walked out into the hallway. She looked up, her eyes landing on a man in a dark suit standing by the wall talking to another man. Her heart skipped a beat. The man in the dark suit was wearing a pair of horn-rimmed glasses and when he turned and met her gaze, she could clearly see the scar running down the side of his nose. He smirked, shaking his head threateningly, then discreetly held a finger to his lips before turning away.

"Sam?"

She almost jumped when someone touched her arm. It was only Dryden, however, peering down at her with a concerned expression. She shook her head. "What?"

"Are you alright?" the colonel's dark eyes widened slightly.

"I'm fine." She smiled. "I'm just tired."

"Ah, right. Here…I'll walk you out to your cab."

Later that night Jack and Sam joined Hammond in his suit at the hotel for dinner. All three seemed a little agitated, even after the slow pace of the afternoon portion of the meeting.

"Sir, you don't actually think Koranov's going to go through with this?" Jack asked. Hammond had been the one most ready to propose coming up with plans for what to do if Koranov made good on his threats. "I mean this guy sounds like all bark and no bite…he's new to the game."

Sam frowned slightly at the analogy. That's exactly what Dryden had called it.

Hammond sighed, setting his napkin to the side with a little more force than was necessary. "I really don't know, Jack. It seems like a crazy thing to do, yes, but the threat of nuclear war isn't something to be taken lightly either."

"Sir, I'm not taking it lightly, I'm only – "

"Remember the Cuban Missile Crisis." Hammond looked hard at them both. "The president doesn't really want to deal with something like that. With today's technology, who knows what would happen."

"Koranov would have to be absolutely insane to actually do something like this, though."

"Then let's hope he's sane," Hammond said in a manner that indicated this topic was closed. He turned to Sam. "Major, how are your niece and nephew doing?"

* * *

Sam found it hard to sleep that night. She'd gotten used to sleeping in hotels long ago, but her mind seemed to be rushing around at a pace that was incredible even to her. Koranov's threat mingled right up there with Dryden…

_That's just what you need. _She told herself. _Getting involved with another military man. _ Hadn't Hansen been bad enough? But Dryden was nothing like him. Dryden seemed…genuinely nice. There had to be a catch.

_Listen to me!_ Sam thought despairingly as she fell back against the pillows. _Worrying about a boyfriend when we could be on the brink of nuclear war. _ She closed her eyes and spent several minutes trying to remember some of the meditation techniques Teal'c had taught her. By the time she remembered them she'd stopped worrying about all the other things, and sleep came easily.

She was awoken all too early by Jack pounding on her door and telling her it was time to get up. After packing their things, the three of them had to hurry back to the White House so Hammond could have another brief word with the president before they caught their flight.

While sitting in one of the waiting rooms with Jack, who had his face stuck in a magazine, Sam looked up and was surprised to see Dryden entering, a folder clutched under one arm and the drowsy look of someone who'd been awoken far too early. Sam got to her feet and hurried over.

"Dryden!"

He turned and grinned. "Sam! Hey, I didn't expect to see you…"

"General Hammond had to talk to the president again."

"Mmm." Dryden tilted his head to one side. "So you're leaving soon then?"

Sam nodded. " 'Fraid so."

"Well," Dryden set his folder down so they could shake hands. "It was a pleasure meeting you, and I hope this is a 'see you later' and not 'good bye'."

"Yeah." Sam sighed heavily, turning to look as Hammond came out of the oval office. "But I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other again soon."

"Good. Until then." With one last smile they both turned their opposite ways, Dryden heading into one of the offices and Sam walking over to her two CO's.

"Ready to go, Major?" Hammond asked, turning.

Sam nodded, and with that they left.


	5. DEFCON 4

Chapter 5: DEFCON 4

Upon their return to Colorado Springs and the SGC, Hammond called a meeting of all SGC personnel in the gate room. He explained in detail exactly what was happening, about what could happen, and what the government wanted to happen. He felt it was his obligation to make them aware of the possible dangers.

"Until this whole situation is over, I'm suspending normal gate activity," Hammond added. "For security reasons we won't be going on the normally scheduled missions. I just feel this would be the best bet knowing the current situation."

After Hammond finished his speech Sam headed up to the gate room and sent her father a brief message explaining what was going on. She wasn't in the least bit surprised when he replied a minute later saying he was coming through.

"Incoming wormhole!" Walter called about half an hour later as the gate whirled to life. "We're receiving the tok'ra IDC."

"It's my dad," Sam said. "Open the iris."

Jacob looked rather pale as he hurried down the ramp to pull his daughter into a tight hug.

"Hey, kiddo, what's going on?" he asked, eyes wide.

Sam beckoned for him to follow her up to the briefing room. There she sat down and explained in detail what had happened over the past few days.

"Jesus Christ…" Jacob groaned, leaning back in his seat and putting one hand over his eyes. "I leave for a year or two and the whole place goes to hell…"

Sam nodded in agreement. "We're still hoping that Koranov is just bluffing."

Jacob looked at her seriously. "Sam, look, if he's actually going through with it, god forbid, I want to know. I will come through and bring you, Mark and his family through to the Tok'ra, security clearance be damned. I'm not going to let my family be blown up with the rest of the planet."

"Dad, they've got evacuation plans." Sam replied, reaching out to touch her father's arm. "And they're not taking this lightly."

"I know, I know," Jacob smiled tightly and squeezed her hand. "I just worry about my little girl."

* * *

Jacob headed back later that day. The next afternoon the four members of SG-1 were all crowded into Sam's lab. None of them seemed to have anything better to do than bother Sam while she tried to repair a motherboard from one of the UAV's.

"Isn't that supposed to be Siler's job?" Jack asked, his yoyo swinging dangerously close to a shelf where Sam had several piles of equipment neatly laid out.

"This is a bit more complicated than he's used to," Sam replied, not looking up.

Teal'c was standing silently in one corner and Daniel sat across the table from Sam, his chin resting in his hands as he watched Jack act the fool and Sam yell at him to be careful. They all snapped to attention, however, a moment later when the door opened and General Hammond walked in.

"As you were," he said, waving for Sam and Jack to sit back down.

"You don't look to happy, sir," Jack commented. Hammond indeed was wearing a rather sour expression on his face.

"I just received word from the secretary of defense," he sighed heavily. "He's preparing to move the country to DEFCON 4. Koranov is apparently being perfectly serious about his demands."

"And whatever he's asking for is worth risking nuclear war?" Daniel asked, raising his eyebrows disbelievingly.

"Right now that's what we're trying to decide. You see, Dr. Jackson, he's demanding we shut down the Stargate program for good, which includes closing all our bases off world." Hammond leaned on the table. "The president is calling another meeting and he wants you two," he gestured at Sam and Jack, "as well as myself to be there again."

"Wait, I have a question," Jack said, raising his hand.

Hammond turned to him. "What is it, Colonel?"

"So, we're moving the country to DEFCON 4, and the people won't even know why?" Jack looked disbelieving. "I mean, what, are we just going to tell them it's classified? Or can we say that Russia is threatening us?"

"I honestly don't know what they're going to tell the American people," Hammond replied with a shrug. "I assume that's what this meeting is going to be about."

"When do we leave, sir?" Sam asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon, 1300 hours, so be ready." He nodded to them all before leaving the lab.

Daniel sighed. "How come you two are the ones who get to go to these meetings?"

"Because we're the military people on the team," Jack said with a grin. "They don't wanna talk to no civilians."

This only increased the scowl on the young archaeologist's face. "That doesn't make much sense. I think a civilian could probably lend vital –"

"Danny, I was only joking!" Jack said, holding his hands up. "I don't know why the president is only asking me and Carter, but that's what he's doing. So hold down the fort for us, ok?"

"Yeah ok." Daniel mumbled.

* * *

"You know, the amount of money the air force spends shipping us back and forth to Washington could probably feed a third world country for a year," Sam complained as they clambered out of a limo in front of the white house.

"What are you, standing in for Daniel or something?" Jack asked, holding the door open for her. "Quit complaining, Carter, you know you like all this red carpet treatment."

Sam looked down at her feet. "All I see is concrete, sir."

"Come on people, let's not keep the president waiting," Hammond said, ushering them up the steps and inside.

As they entered the waiting room outside the oval office, Sam was happy to see Dryden standing off to one side. He smiled and waved, making his way over.

"I was hoping I'd see you here," he said, grinning. "Pity it's on such a dark occasion."

"Yeah," Sam sighed, nodding as she scanned the room to see who all was there. Dryden opened his mouth to say something else, but suddenly Sam held up her hand silencing him. She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "I'll be right back."

Slipping in between people, she made her way over to Jack and grabbed his arm.

"What is it, Carter?"

"Sir, you see the man standing over there with the horn-rimmed glasses?"

Jack squinted. "Yeah, he's some political big shot. What about him?"

"He's the one…the one that interrogated me." Sam was speaking in a whisper, her lips close to Jack's ear. He froze, turning to frown at her.

"Carter…are you sure?"

She nodded. "I saw him the last time we were here…I was just too afraid to say anything…"

"Shit…" Jack mumbled under his breath. "I've got half a mind to go over there and ask him who the hell he thinks he is…"

"Sir, don't. Just go tell Hammond."

Jack shook his head. "Not Hammond, I'll go tell the goddamn president!"

Sam opened her mouth to argue, but the doors to the oval office opened then and people began moving in. Jack grabbed Sam by the arm and pulled her over to the president who stood by the doors, greeting people as they entered and flanked by two security guards in dark suits. The president look shocked when Jack told him about the man, but he assured them that he'd have him removed. Dryden was called over, a few words said to him, and he moved off with a couple security guards to corner the man with the horn-rimmed glasses.

The constant niggling worry remained in Sam's mind, however, even as she took her seat next to Jack and the secretary of defense stood up to address them.

"As of 1200 hours tomorrow the United States will officially be at DEFCON 4, as decided by the joint chiefs of staff," said the secretary of defense as he faced them all. "This is in anticipation of the very real threat that Koranov is posing. Many of you have voiced certain concerns about this, and the president will address those now."

The president stood up, smiling at them all. "Now, the biggest question most of you have been asking is what the public reaction to this decision is going to be. I agree that we cannot just go ahead and take drastic military action concerning something the American people know nothing about. As such, I have been strongly considering going public with the Stargate program."

Murmurs filled the room at this. Jack and Sam turned to Hammond, but the general forcibly looked the other direction.

"With all due respect, Mr. President," Jack said after a moment. "So what, we're going to tell everyone 'Oh, we've got this great program where we've been traveling to distant planets. By the way, Russia is threatening to nuke us if we don't shut it down' ?!"

"We owe the people the truth, Colonel." The president replied. "Dealing with an alien invasion is one thing. It can be prevented without anyone ever finding out about it. But this…this is something else. This is something that's happening in our own world, in our own country. We won't be able to keep it quiet and people are going to wonder what the hell is going on."

Everyone took a few minutes to exchange looks and have silent conversations between each other before someone asked, "What does General Hammond think of this?"

"I agree with the president," Hammond replied. "I think our best course of action would be to go public. However, I cannot caution enough how careful we must be in going about this."

"And Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter?" the same man turned towards Jack and Sam. "You two know more about the program than probably anyone else. What do you say?"

"Well, this is the first we'd heard of it," Jack said after sending Sam a confused look. "And I think it's a positively insane idea. But…as Carter can vouch for, I'm always one to support insane ideas."

All eyes turned towards Sam then, and she felt herself flushing slightly. "As General Hammond said, if we're going to do this we'll have to be very careful. A revelation on this scale could cause mass hysteria at the best."

The president nodded appreciatively. "I'm having a public address written up that will be broadcasted tomorrow. In it I explain about the Stargate program, as well as the current situation. After that I'm leaving it up to General Hammond to decide what information is going to be released."

"Once the press gets their hands on something like this," Jack muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "good luck keeping anything secret…"

The meeting continued with all the officials arguing back and forth about the finer points of the plan. The draft of the president's speech was brought in and they only argued more. Sam sat back in her seat, listening patiently while her hands twisted around in her lab. She was experiencing that sort of frenzied feeling in her mind again as too many thoughts chased themselves around. All the time she was worried about the future and her thoughts kept returning to the man with the horn-rimmed glasses.

Finally she couldn't take the arguing any more. Quietly she excused herself and stood up, slipping out into the empty and quiet waiting area. She took a seat by one of the windows and put her hands over her face.

A few minutes later someone sat next to her, putting a hand on her back.

"Carter? Everything ok?"

She looked up at her CO to find a concerned expression in his eyes. She slowly shook her head. "No, it's not sir."

Jack leaned back on the couch. "Yeah, this all is a bit overwhelming."

"They're in there, making these decisions," Sam said, pointing towards the closed doors. "Do they even realize how this is going to effect…well…everything? Not just our lives, but everyone's lives. And what if this just makes Koranov more angry and he actually follows through with his threat?"

"I'm sure they're taking that into consideration, Carter."

"I know, sir, I just…" She ran her fingers through her hair and looked desperately around the empty waiting room.

"You just what?" Jack leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and frowning slightly.

Sam sighed, forcing herself to calm down. "I'm just terrified about what's going to happen."

Jack nodded, looking at the floor but putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing comfortingly. They sat in companionable silence for a while until footsteps caused Jack to guiltily shift away.

Dryden spotted them as he entered the room. "Hey, is the meeting over yet?"

"Nope, they're still going at it." Jack stood up, smoothing down his jacket. "In fact I should go in there and make sure they're not trying to make any completely ridiculous decisions…I'll see you in a bit, Carter." He gave Dryden a nod before quietly re-entering the meeting.

Dryden took Jack's seat next to Sam. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Sam managed a smile. "Just…overwhelmed. They're going public with the Stargate program."

"Are they really?" Dryden raised his eyebrows. "Jesus…well, I guess I won't be needing that security clearance after all." He grinned a little, then assumed a more serious expression. "Anyway, we've got Charles Lambertson in custody," at Sam's confused expression he explained, "the man who'd interrogated you."

"Oh, right…"

"He's definitely involved in something illegal, but he's not talking right now." Dryden sighed. "They're going to keep working at him and I'll probably head back there later."

"Thank you." Sam said quietly.

"Yeah, no problem." Dryden touched her shoulder lightly. "Hey, I think you promised to join me for dinner next time you were in town…"

"That I did." Sam grinned. "I'll have to check with General Hammond, but I should be free."

"Great." They both looked up as the doors opened. "And speak of the devil…"

* * *

Sam wished greatly that she was able to enjoy the dinner. But both she and Dryden had too many uptight thoughts to relax completely. They made an attempt, joking and trying to talk about normal life. But lurking around the edges of the conversation was always the knowledge that by this time tomorrow, the whole country would be different.

They took a limo back to Sam's hotel. She leaned against the door, looking at Dryden and the way the light from the streetlamps caused shadows to chase themselves over his face. He caught her looking and turned, a faint smile playing over his lips.

"I enjoyed tonight, despite everything." He said, reaching for Sam's hand.

She gave his fingers a slight squeeze. "Me too. We'll have to do this again once things have settled down."

The car pulled up in front of the hotel. Sam had her hand on the handle of the door when Dryden leaned in to place a soft kiss on her cheek. She blushed despite herself.

"I really like you, Sam," he said. "From all the stuff I'd read about Major Carter I never thought there'd be such an amazing person behind all the sciency stuff."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Stop while you're ahead there, Dryden."

"Ok, I will," he said with a chuckle. "But I just wanted to tell you that incase I don't get another chance to talk to you."

"You will," Sam murmured, her expression growing suddenly serious. "Dryden, we will see each other again."

He squeezed her hand. "I hope so."

If Sam had any hope of getting a decent amount of sleep that night, it was quashed the minute she got to her room. Jack grabbed her by the arm, pulling her into Hammond's room where they spent a good two hours talking about the meeting.

"On a lighter note," Jack said after getting sick of discussing the results of going public. "How'd your dinner date go, Carter?"

"It was good." Sam was fidgeting with a tiny bottle of lavender pillow spray. "We were both too nervous about the current state of affairs to really enjoy ourselves, but it wasn't a bad night or anything…"

The phone rang and Hammond got up to answer it. A few minutes later he returned to the table.

"That was Colonel Anderson," he said, folding his hands. "They've been interviewing the man who kidnapped you, Major."

Sam's eyes widened. "What'd they find out?"

"That they nipped this thing, luckily, in the bud. He was a member of a spy network here in the US that's financed and controlled by the Russian government. Apparently he's been passing information on to Koranov."

"Jeeeessusss…" Jack groaned, leaning back in his chair. "This is getting thicker by the second."

Sam nodded glumly and looked down at the table, wondering vaguely if she was ever again going to get a good night's rest.


	6. The Pains of Truth

A/N – There's a slight homage to the movie 'Contact' (Which I'd recommend to _any _Stargate fan ;) in this chapter, just thought I'd point that out. Also, I know this one feels rushed, but I didn't want to get too involved in the 'gate going public' aspect…there are other things I've got to move on to…

* * *

Chapter 6: The Pains of Truth

"Major, Colonel, please sit down." Hammond gestured for Sam and Jack to take seats at the briefing room table.

"What can we do you for, sir?" Jack asked. Amongst all the chaos that had broken out in the past couple weeks Jack seemed to remain remarkably calm…at least on the outside.

"As you know there have been many responses to the president's speech," Hammond said slowly. "Most of all people are confused, a little angry. They need someone who isn't a politician that they can look to for answers."

"And this has to do with us…" Jack waved his hand impatiently for an answer.

"In two days you will be making an appearance at a press conference regarding the Stargate program in Washington," Hammond explained. "There you will answer questions about the program as well as Koranov's latest actions."

Sam frowned slightly. "What _are_ his latest actions? We haven't really heard anything from him since the president's address."

"He's been shocked into silence by our move…we're hoping it'll last."

"Let me just clarify this," Jack said, putting one hand to his forehead. "By press conference you mean us sitting in front of a huge room full of people and answering their many and varied questions?"

Hammond nodded. "Now, you shouldn't worry about security, the president has assured me they're putting the best teams on the job."

"Wait, sir, security?" Sam looked mildly alarmed.

"There have been people who reacted adversely to the announcement," Hammond said. "They're the ones that are pushing the president towards declaring Martial Law, though it hasn't quite gotten there yet."

"General, I don't want to put the safety of my team in jeopardy for the sake of some media vultures," Jack complained.

"It'll only be yourself and Major Carter, not your whole team, Colonel." Hammond gave Jack a pointed look. "And two people are much easier to defend."

"What about Teal'c and Danny?" Jack asked.

"They don't think the public is quite ready for Teal'c yet, and Dr. Jackson has the luxury of refusing to participate."

Jack and Sam exchanged confused and slightly annoyed looks before Jack let out a resigned sigh. "When do we leave, sir?"

* * *

When she was growing up Sam sometimes wondered what it was like to be a celebrity. To get out of a limo and face a crowd of people who all knew your name. But when she and Jack stepped out of the limo in front of the large conference center in Washington she immediately realized she could do without the experience.

"Oh god…" She murmured to her CO as security agents pressed in on either side of them. "I'm not ready for this…"

"You'll be fine, Carter," Jack said, patting her on the back. "Just smile and wave and they'll all be happy."

Despite what Jack said it was obvious that not everyone in the crowd was happy to see them. Sam could spot several members of religious and political groups shouting things angrily, trying to be heard over the mass of adoring fans.

Once inside the building they were lead to the conference room and sat down behind a huge table. More security guards filed in on the sides of the room, eyes surveying the people now filing in from behind dark sun glasses.

Sam swallowed thickly as she saw the array of video cameras being set up. Jack reached under the table and comfortingly patted her knee.

The questions, when they came, were like snowballs hurled one after the other at Sam and Jack. Questions about Koranov and his plans came first, then the stargate program, why it was kept secret for so long, etc. Jack answered them with as much dignity and grace as he could muster, noticing how awkward Sam was.

"Major Carter," A man asked, stepping forward. "Being a scientist, have you had any contact with organizations like SETI or NASA? People who have already been searching for things like this?"

Sam shook her head. "Not really. We've dealt with NASA on certain issues but they haven't been fully involved in the program."

"Well, both of those organizations aren't too happy about that now. " he looked down at the pad of paper in one hand, then back up at Sam. "Also, there have been many religious repercussions because of this program…the Pope has made quite a few speeches already. What are your thoughts on this?"

"I think the Stargate program is a matter of science, not religion," Sam replied.

Murmurs ran around the room at this. Jack snorted, muttering 'nice job' out of the corner of his mouth.

"Major Carter, do you believe in God?" this was a woman standing off to the left. She stood up slowly, a faint smile on her lips.

"Excuse me?" Sam frowned.

"Do you believe in a higher power out there?"

Sam laughed nervously. "I'm a scientist. I find scientific explanations for why we're here and why things happen the way they do. So…I'd have to say no, I don't."

The woman smirked then turned to Jack. "What about you, Colonel?"

"Look, this could just be me," Jack said, putting one hand on the table. "But I'm really missing the relevance of that question."

" 95 of the population believes in a higher power in one form or another," the woman said. "We just want to be sure we're being properly represented."

"Higher power?" Jack grinned. "Sure I believe in them. They're about yea high, grey, called the Asgard. Really nice guys. There's also the glowing jelly-fish Ancients, but they don't really do anything."

"That's not what I was asking, Colonel."

"I know." Jack sat back in his seat, looking sternly at the woman. "But for cryin' out loud, right now as we speak there's a man plotting what could possibly be the end of the world. I would think that people would be more concerned about uniting to stop him than dividing ourselves over a matter like religion. So what if Major Carter and I don't believe in God? It's not going to change the way we represent our planet. Next question."

* * *

"Oho now we've done it!" Jack said as they got back into the car after the conference. "The newspapers are going to be all over us and it won't be because we've saved the fucking galaxy, either, no, it'll be because we don't think there's a big man up there controlling everything."

"Sad but true," Sam mumbled, then grinned at him. "That speech of yours was pretty impressive."

"Yeah, well…" Jack stretched his feet out, folding his arms behind his head. "I just pulled that outta my ass. I had to say something."

Back at the hotel Sam was just changing into her civilian clothing when he phone rang.

"Carter."

It was one of the security guards. "Major, there's a man down here claiming to be your brother, Mark Carter."

"Oh!" Sam's eyes went wide. "Send him up."

A few minutes later there was a knocking at the door and Sam opened it to find Mark standing there. She threw her arms around her brother.

"I didn't know you were coming!"

"I had to see you," Mark said as Sam gestured for him to take a seat. "I pulled a lot of strings and got a pass for the conference. I was way at the back of the room, but…" his voice trailed off and he stared at his sister. "Sam…I had no idea…you and Dad…"

"I'm sorry." Sam managed a little smile and laugh. "You didn't have to come all the way out here to see me, though!"

"I've been trying to get a hold of you for the past week," Mark admitted. "But so has the rest of the world, and you haven't been at home at all. You're answering machine is probably full of messages from me."

"Yeah, well the past week's been hectic to say the least…"

"Sam, I have to get back to Carol and the kids, they're waiting at our hotel, but…" Mark looked up at her nervously. "Can I just ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Is Koranov really going to start a nuclear war?"

Sam was silent for a long moment. She took a deep breath and let it out before replying. "I don't know. It's what he's threatening to do. But, Mark…" she reached out and touched his arm. "You can't tell anyone this…but there are lists. If it comes to nuclear war there are lists of people to be evacuated through the Stargate to another planet. I'm on one of the first ones and I am sure as hell not leaving without you."

"It's the kids I'm more worried about," Mark murmured.

"I'm not leaving without _any_ of you." They both got to their feet and Mark threw his arms around Sam, hugging her tightly.

"My little sister the space ranger." He said with a laugh. "And my own father a host to an alien…" Mark shook his head in disbelief, stepping back. "Tell him I said hi."

"I will." Sam opened the door. "And I promise I'll come visit you soon."

* * *

Night fell slowly over the city. Sam and Jack ate dinner in his room and then went to talk quietly on the balcony.

"It's all changing," Sam murmured, leaning on the railing and watching the sky turn from deep blue to inky black. Stars appeared, and she wondered vaguely which ones they'd been to. "All around the world people's lives are changing and it's partially our fault."

"At least we're all still here," Jack walked over to stand next to her. "At least we all have lives to change. I mean, it's frightening to think that there's one man out there who can push a button and all this – " he waved his hand, encompassing the cityscape before them, "all this will go up in smoke."

Sam shivered slightly, though the night wasn't cold. "I want this to be over."

"We all do."

"I wish the president hadn't gone public," she heaved a sigh. "it just made things worse."

Jack nodded, giving Sam a wan smile. "He had no choice, it was the best thing to do."

"Even you're different, sir," Sam looked up at him, smirking.

"Am I?" he laughed.

"Mmmm."

They fell into silence as the night darkened. Sam clasped and unclasped her hands, lost in her own thoughts.

"This is one planet." Jack said after a while, his voice breaking through the distant hum of nighttime noises. "One little planet. One man threatening to drop a few bombs. The Goa'uld system lords make Koranov pale in comparison. We've saved the whole goddamn galaxy, this is one planet!"

Sam watched him gesture at the city again then slam his fist down on the railing. "This is our planet." She said quietly. "For so long this is all we thought was out there. I think in a way that makes it far bigger to us than a galaxy."

Jack turned to her with a light sigh. "Carter…"

"Sir?" She turned when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"C'mere." Jack pulled her into a hug, embracing her not only with as much comfort as he could muster but also with all the fear he was feeling but was too proud to admit.

Sam rested her cheek against his shoulder and loosely wrapped her arms around his waist. For a few minutes they just stood there as the cool night breeze ruffled their hair and far below them families in their homes discussed the Stargate program and some people went on disbelieving what Koranov was threatening to do was real…

"I'll always be here for you, Carter," Jack murmured. "No matter what. If the world turns into a huge ball of superheated plasma and you need a hug…" he paused to give her a comforting squeeze. "I'm here."

Sam lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him. "I know."

His brown eyes were warm, glowing in the faint light from the city. "And, Carter, just in case Koranov is as crazy as he claims to be, I just wanted to tell you that…" But his voice seemed to catch in his throat. It'd been years since he'd said it to anyone and now he felt out of practice.

"I know." Sam whispered, her voice only barely audible above the wind that now blew strongly about them.


	7. Tension Wrench

Chapter 7: Tension Wrench

Hammond was summoned back to Washington again because Alexander Koranov had phoned the president. Or maybe he didn't literally call the president, but he contacted him somehow and that was enough to cause stirrings around the country. Everyone had been laboring under the false hope that maybe Koranov had given up on his schemes and would settle down; but this turned out to not be the case.

Hammond returned to the SGC late one Thursday night looking tired and upset. The balding general sat at the head of the briefing room table, regarding his front line team thoughtfully.

SG-1 all had their noses stuck in an issue of TIME magazine which had a photo of Sam and Jack on the cover along with some headline about intergalactic heroes. Hammond cleared his throat and they all looked up.

"I've got rather grave news, people," Hammond said with a sigh.

Jack set the magazine down. "What is it, sir?"

"Koranov isn't happy. Actually I think that's quite an understatement; he's damn well pissed off." Hammond glanced momentarily up at the ceiling. "He thinks that our little charade as he put it was just a stall; he's going ahead with his threat."

"You mean he's actually…" Jack mimed a bomb flying and then hitting the ground and exploding.

Hammond nodded. "Our intelligence tells us that Russia's preparing for a full our nuclear attack. Sadly there's not much we can do about it except retaliate in what'll become an all out nuclear war."

"Holy Hannah…" Sam muttered, earning an odd look from her CO. "What about a preemptive strike? Attacking their missile sites?"

"I'm afraid that wouldn't do much good in the long run, Major," Hammond said. "We've only been able to locate about two of the sites. We attack those and Koranov will most definitely move to strike without warning."

Daniel heaved a sigh, looking down at the magazine in his hands, at Sam and Jack's photos, at the headline. "None of this matters anymore."

"Of course it matters!" Jack cried suddenly. "Come on, kids, chins up! We'll get through this. We're not going to let this wannabe Stalin destroy our beautiful planet. Someday we'll be sitting with our grandkids and telling them how we never gave up hope no matter how dark things got."

"Thank you for the pep-talk, Jack," Hammond said, allowing a faint smile to cross his face momentarily. "But I'm afraid there isn't much reason to hope left. As of 1300 hours yesterday the country's officially at DEFCON 3."

"Jesus fucking Christ…" Daniel said under his breath, though loud enough for the others at the table to hear. Under their shocked gazes he quietly excused himself and hurried out of the room before Hammond could object.

"Did Danny-boy just drop an f-bomb?" Jack asked, turning to Sam who nodded. The colonel shook his head in disbelief. "Damn. The world really is coming to an end."

* * *

The next day the Secretary of Defense himself came to the SGC to discuss evacuation plans with Hammond. Lists would be drawn up of people to be evacuated first and it was decided that after they went through, the SGC would just start grabbing anyone nearby. The Prometheus would be flying around the globe and beaming as many people off the planet as possible, and they'd already contacted the Asgard who'd been more than happy to lend their ships to get people to safety.

"How do we decide who lives and dies?" Sam asked one day as she and the rest of the team helped prep emergency supplies to be taken to the evacuation sites. "I mean, can we honestly say one person is more worthy of being saved than another?"

"The president will be one of the first people evacuated," Daniel said, stacking crates onto a flatbed cart. "But when it comes down to it, does he deserve to be evacuated more than say the teenage girl who's going to be a scientist when she grows up? You know, it's the teenager's we'll need in the end. The people who'll be young enough to reproduce."

"Which is why everyone on the lists are allowed to bring their families with them." Jack pointed out.

"There still is no fair way to say who gets evacuated and who doesn't!" Sam complained.

Jack stopped what he was doing to look at Sam with an almost saddened expression. "You're right, Carter, there isn't. No one ever said there was."

Sam looked up when she heard her name over the intercom.

"Major Carter to the briefing room. Major Carter to the briefing room."

Shooting her friends an apologetic look Sam turned and hurried up to the briefing room. Hammond was in his office with a couple of officials, but waiting for her at the table was none other than Dryden, who turned and smiled when she entered.

Hours later they sat at a table in a semi-formal restaurant, tucked away in a corner where Sam wouldn't attract too many stares.

"This is all so…I don't even know how to say it." Dryden said miserably as he pushed the last crumbs of food around on his plate. He looked up at Sam, his dark brown eyes wide. "What if this is the last time I ever eat in a restaurant?"

"You can't think like that," Sam told him. "You'll go crazy. We have to hold on…hold on to whatever it is we have left."

Dryden reached out to take hold of her hand where it rested on the table. "Every day I see your face in the newspapers and magazines."

"They call me a hero…" Sam said, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze and slowly shaking her head. "But…here's something I can't save us from."

"You don't have to," Dryden murmured, leaning in closer. "Samantha…those stories can't even begin to capture the real you…The people who see your picture it reassures them that someone is out there fighting for us…even if it's not you. You've become a beacon of hope."

"Dryden…"

"And if you could only know how much hope you'd given me…" He was squeezing her hand almost painfully tight, and as though he'd suddenly realized this he released her hand.

They paid for the meal in silence, then Dryden helped Sam into her coat and they went out to the car. Both of them stood there for a moment, not wanting to get in, not wanting this night to end because they knew it very well could be the last of it's kind.

"Sam…come here…" Dryden stepped over to her, putting his arms around her and holding her close. Sam buried her face in his shoulder, wishing vainly that when she opened her eyes and stepped back this would all be over. "I never …" Dryden said softly. "Never imagined that I could fall so deeply in love…but I have. I love you Sam…I only wish it wasn't in such dark times."

Something caught in Sam's throat and she felt a tremor run through her. When she stepped back and looked up at Dryden tears glistened on her cheeks. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"What for?" Dryden tenderly brushed her tears away with his thumb.

"Lots of things." Sam laughed at her own tears and hurriedly wiped them on her sleeve before getting into the car.

When Dryden started the car and began pulling out of the parking lot Sam suddenly felt a strange sense of hopelessness wash over her. Like she was disconnected completely from a world that was coming to a fast and violent end. The feeling frightened her. As though to get a better grip on reality she reached out and put her hand on Dryden's leg.

His expression didn't change, but he grasped her hand with his. The feeling of his skin beneath her fingers reassured Sam that there was still life out there. And where there was life, there was hope.

They pulled up outside of her house and Dryden shut off the engine, but Sam didn't get out of the car. She realized she was still holding tightly to his hand. They turned to look at each other.

Dryden leaned in and Sam found herself doing the same, though at the last moment she turned her head ever so slightly and his lips lightly pressed to her cheek. He didn't seem to mind, but looked surprised when tears formed in her eyes again.

"I can't do this…" Sam choked out.

Dryden's hand reassuringly squeezed hers. "I'm here for you."

Sam looked up and gave him a grateful smile through her tears.

It was those same tears that Dryden tasted minutes later as the bedroom door closed behind them and his lips traced the contours of Sam's face in the dark. But suddenly her hands were on his shoulders, slender fingers applying a light pressure to his bare skin.

"Wait…" she said breathily. "I don't want…"

His hands slid down her muscular arms. "Sam, whatever you want. I won't force you."

"I just need," but Sam stopped herself, biting her lip. What did she need? Was it Dryden? Looking into his chocolate brown eyes she could see someone else lurking there and it wasn't fair to Dryden if she would just always see someone else's face instead of his. But his hands on her arms were so comforting, so reassuring. "I just need someone to…" Sam leaned forward, resting her head against his collarbone and wrapping her arms around him.

"Okay…" Dryden sat down on the bed, leaning against the pillows and holding Sam to him, one hand smoothing down her hair.

Sam couldn't tell what they did all night. Some kissing, some crying, some holding each other, some talking. Worry hung thicker about them than the comforter that Sam eventually had to pull around them. Whatever happened, however, they both awoke the next morning feeling slightly more assured that it was possible to still hope.

* * *

It was like the hours before a storm. When the world goes still and you can see the dark clouds rolling in and all the birds have roosted. Only the world wasn't still. At least not Sam's world.

There were preparations to be made. Public announcements to be heard. People were told to pack bags; their most precious belongings. To put them in their cars and be ready when the time came to get to the Stargate and leave.

Morale had reached an all time low.

Jacob was ready to take Sam, Mark, Carol and the kids off-world if Hammond would let him, but the general was resistant. There were rules that the location of the Stargate was not to be disclosed until the eve of Apocalypse, as Daniel so bluntly put it.

Asgard ships hung in orbit day and night now. They were doing their best to help keep an eye on Russia, but Koranov was good. His people had dealt with alien technology and had become adapt at hiding from it.

All around the globe in cities and towns special 'deportation sites' were set up where people were told to go when and if (though each day it was becoming more and more of an issue of 'when') the missiles were fired. These would be the target sites for the ships to beam people from.

* * *

"Right now I think the best thing we can all do is just relax, for one day at least." Jack said, passing beers out from the cooler.

The team was sitting on the pier behind his cabin. Teal'c had a fishing rod in hand and Sam and Daniel were playing cards.

"Don't tell us to forget about it, Jack," Daniel murmured. "It's too late for that."

"I wasn't," Jack said, pulling up a lawn chair and sitting down. "I was saying relax. As in physically." He leaned back. "So you know in school how they'd always give you those essay prompts about how if the world was going to end what you'd want to do? Well…here it is. The worlds going to end. Whatcha going to do?"

"I would wish only to spend more time with those whom I care about," Teal'c said, looking around at them all. "Which I am doing."

"I agree with Teal'c," Daniel said. "But…other than that I don't really know. There's so much I'd like to do, so many people I'd still like to talk to."

"Yeah." Jack said huskily. He turned to Sam, but she had such a far off look in her eyes that he decided not to bother.

The day passed too quickly for anyone's taste. They managed a few laughs, forced as they were, and Jack had fun with what he deemed the pre-apocalyptic barbeque. Night fell and they lay on their backs looking at the stars. Sam waned to ingrain this view into her memory, complete with the comfortable feeling of companionship coming from the three men around her.

Daniel and Teal'c finally got into Daniel's car and headed back home.

"You never answered my question," Jack said as he saw Sam to her car. "About what you still want to do."

"You really want an answer?" Sam turned to look at him, her jacket flung over one shoulder and her car keys in her hand. In the moon light her hair seemed to shine silver.

Jack nodded, his expression softening as he looked down at her. Sam took a deep breath and stepped closer to him. Any fear or doubt she'd ever held seemed to have died in the past couple weeks and without any hesitation she leaned forward and kissed Jack softly, her lips chastely pressing to his and remaining that way for a split second before she stepped back.

Neither said anything, but the secretive smile that they exchanged before Sam left was enough.


	8. DEFCON 1 and Epilogue

Chapter 8: DEFCON 1

"I just want this all to be over," Janet said wearily as she and Sam cleared away the dinner dishes. "I want things to be able to go back to normal." She laughed quietly. " I want to be able to yell at Cassie and not feel guilty that it might be the last time we ever speak."

"I heard that!" Cassie said, coming into the room with a DVD in hand. " _'Under the Tuscan Sun'_?"

"Sure why not?" Janet heaved a sigh and they all went into the living room. "I could do with something adorably cheerful right now."

Cassie put the movie in then came to sit between Sam and Janet on the couch. She leaned against Sam, then grabbed her mother, pulling her in as well so the three were in sort of a lumpy group hug on one end of the couch.

"I just want to feel safe," Cassie murmured in response to the questioning looks both women gave her.

They all made an attempt to relax, to pretend nothing was different, but that would have been far more successful if the movie hadn't been interrupted about halfway through by Sam's cell phone ringing. An annoyed Cassie dutifully put the movie on hold while Sam took the call.

"Carter…yes….yeah I'm with th – What?!" her face paled and Janet and Cassie immediately exchanged worried looks. "Oh god…ok…yeah…" she closed the phone and looked up at Janet and Cassie shakily.

"Sam?" Janet looked at her with wide eyes. "Sam what's wrong?"

"We're at DEFCON 1…" Sam's voice sounded to her as though it was coming from a far way away. "Russia's fired the first missile…"

"Oh my god…Cassie go get your stuff from your room now!" Janet leapt to her feet in a split second. "Sam do you have to…?"

"Yeah." Sam was on her feet as well, not even bothering to grab her jacket from the coat hook as she headed for the door. "I'll meet you at the base but I am not leaving without my brother…"

Sam turned, taking a few seconds to run over and pull her friend into a tight hug. When Janet pulled away there were tears in the corners of her eyes.

"We'll be ok, Sam, just go."

* * *

The base was in sheer and complete pandemonium. The president was there as well as everyone else from the first few lists and their families, all being taken through to the evacuation sites. Pushing her way through the throngs of people Sam got her belongings checked in then ran up to Hammonds office where the general was sitting looking very stressed out. His daughter, son in law and two granddaughters were sitting around the briefing table along with Mark and his family.

"Sam what's going on?!" Mark demanded, rushing over to his sister and throwing his arms around her.

Carol looked very pale and was holding the two kids close. "A military jet picked us up about two hours ago. Samantha?"

Sam found herself only able to shake her head in dismay.

Hammond entered the briefing room at that moment, just as Jack came storming in. The general gestured to the two civilian families. "We're getting you through now, so head down to the gate room with your things."

Mark looked at Sam, his eyes wide. "Sam, you're coming aren't you?"

"Yeah," Sam reassured him. "I have to pack up some things but I'll meet you there." After saying goodbye to them Sam ran down to her lab to throw some things together. She didn't even realize Jack had followed her until he spoke.

"Carter, just go through. I'll get the rest of your doo-hickys."

Sam turned, throwing the last thing into her backpack. "You're not coming through?"

"I have to help get the civilians through." Jack took her by the arm. "Carter, just go."

"No!"

Sam stared at him. Out in the hall groups of terrified people were being rushed down to the gate room. Jack looked back at her, his eyes showing the first bit of pure fear that Sam had seen in them yet.

"I'm not leaving without you," she said quietly.

"Sam…"

"Colonel! Major! Why aren't you two through the gate yet?!" This was Hammond, pushing his way into the lab and looking fiercely at his two top officers. "Do I have to make 'save yourselves' an order?"

"Sir?" Jack blinked, unconsciously grabbing Sam's hand with his.

"Colonel, as of now there is no east coast…Washingtton, New York, Boston…all first target sites." Hammond glared at them. "Get your asses to the gate room NOW."

People were filling the gate room and lining up in the hallway. Sam and Jack got in line, prepared to wait, but an airman recognized them.

"Colonel, Major, come with me. You're top priority." At this a few of the people around Jack and Sam scowled.

Jack held his ground. "No…these good people got here first, they'll go through first."

* * *

And the wait began. The tension in the hallway was thick enough to cut with a knife and more and more people kept being crammed in there. Regulations be damned, Jack put his arms around Sam, holding her close, and kissing her forehead lightly.

After half an hour of waiting someone began shouting that a second wave had hit further in. They were getting the news on a portable radio. It wouldn't be long before the blasts would be felt in Colorado. People began panicking and the airmen had to take control as the whole mob of people tried to push forward into the gate room.

Finally however, Jack was pulling Sam up the ramp to the shimmering event horizon. She was looking behind them, trying to take in what was probably going to be her last view of the Earth.

Then they were through and into the chaos at the Beta site. Some official spotted them and pulled them upstairs to the level with conference rooms, where the important people and their families were being held. Sam made sure that Mark and the others were there and safe before allowing Jack to push her into a chair.

A man that Sam recognized as Dryden's boss came over with water for them. "Colonel, Major, I'm glad to see you both made it. General Hammond just got through, he'll be up in a few minutes."

"Sir," Sam said, lightly touching his arm. "Is Lt. Colonel Anderson here somewhere?"

Dryden's boss looked upset. "I'm sorry, Major…he was visiting family on the east coast. We didn't get a chance to get him out of there." He gave her an apologetic look before moving on.

Sam leaned back in her chair, suddenly feeling numb. Jack's hand closed on her shoulder and before she knew it she was on her feet and in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder.

"We're going to be ok, Sam," Jack said, trying to sound reassuring as he rubbed her back and only just held back his own tears. "I swear we're going to make it…we're going to be ok…"

Sam looked up, her cheeks glistening.

Jack cupped her face in his hands, looking directly into her eyes. "We're going to be ok."

* * *

Epilogue

The light from the first of the planet's two moons shone in through the window, spilling in a pattern across the blanket. Sam sat up, sighing heavily and rubbing a hand over her stomach. The baby was shifting around and making it hard for her to sleep.

Jack, as though sensing her discomfort, sat up as well. "Sammy, what's wrong?" he put an arm around her shoulders and rested a hand on the swell of her belly. "Hey hey," he said, looking down as the baby kicked. "Let's let mommy get some sleep, ok?"

Sam smiled, leaning against Jack's shoulder. "You told me, that day we first came through, that we'd be ok."

"And we are." Jack gestured around at their house, including with it the land out side that they'd cultivated into a rather successful little farm. "We're more than ok."

Sam looked down, covering Jack's hand with her own. "But this little one will never know Earth."

"We'll just have to make sure they do." Jack kissed her forehead. "We all had to start over, Sam, everyone. There's no one I would have rather done it with than you."

Sam chuckled, tilting her head up for a kiss on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you too." Jack smiled, then they both lay back down, with one of Jack's hands gently rubbing Sam's stomach to try and calm the baby down.

Sam snuggled closer to Jack. Her life certainly wasn't where she'd imagined it a year ago, but at least she had Jack, and that was worth anything on the whole earth-that-was.

* * *

A/N – I was originally going to do it all as one story, but decided against it. So keep your eyes out for the sequel, 'Now is the Summer' which will be much lighter and full of shippy goodness. 


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